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Stefan Welch
263B

Full Name: Stefan Robert Welch

Born: 12 August, 1988

Age: 30

Birthplace: Adelaide, Australia

Bats: L

Throws: R

Height: 191 cm

Weight: 86 kg

A model of consistency since his early days playing for club and state teams in Adelaide, Welch has so far built a successful national and international resume. He initially signed with the New York Mets as an international free agent in 2005 at age 16 and made his professional debut with the GCL Mets in 2007, working his way up to Class A-Advanced by 2011, when he hit .271 for the St. Lucie Mets. That offseason, Welch signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates and reached Double A in 2012, hitting .266 with the Altoona Curve of the Eastern League. In June 2013, the Pirates traded him to the Boston Red Sox, the organisation that he currently calls home.

Welch spent the 2014 minor league season with the Portland Sea Dogs of the Eastern League, the Red Sox Double A affiliate. Led by the Welch's clutch hitting, the Sea Dogs reached the playoffs and finished the season with an 88-54 overall record, the best in franchise history. The season before, Welch won the Carolina League Championship with the Salem Red Sox in 2013. Welch missed the first few weeks of the 2014/15 season after marrying Shannon Lodge, his high school sweetheart and the sister of Bite teammate Ben Lodge.